ST. PETE POLICE ARREST 2 IN WEIGHT-LOSS SCAM

ST. PETERSBURG -- Police have detained two people for selling weight-loss pills containing chemicals classified in Russia as addictive mind-altering substances, the use of which is prohibited or highly restricted.

The dealers, a man and woman, both around 40, were detained last week while trying to sell a pack of the pills to an undercover drug-squad detective during a routine police check of classified ads offering products that can only be sold with a license. Over 1,000 pills were seized from the pair, whose names police refused to disclose.

Arkady Granovsky, deputy chief of the city's drug squad, said the suspects, who were released on the condition they would not leave the city, had been selling the so-called Thai Pills for nearly a year, but he was unable to estimate how many people may have purchased the drug or how much of it had been sold. The pair had none of the documents required to sell drugs, not even a list of the pills' ingredients, and police are trying to determine where the drugs were produced.

The pills had been widely advertised in local tabloids, promising customers they would help "stabilize all bodily systems, increase daily energy levels and aid in weight loss" for between $30 to $340, depending on the duration of treatment.

But detectives say preliminary tests have shown the pills contain phentermine and an obscure substance called opraphepranon, both of which are classified in Russia as addictive psychotropic or mind-altering chemicals.

While phentermine is widely used in weight-loss treatments in the West, a drug-squad detective working on the case said the doses of both substances in the Thai Pills were dozens of times higher than could be considered safe for consumption. But neither the detective who gave his name only as Yury nor his department would specify how much phentermine and opraphepranon was in the pills.

According to Valery Rudnev, a narcotics specialist at the Bekhterev medical center, psychotropic substances, which are often used in sleeping pills, anti-depressants and other drugs, "can cause a whole range of complications, from insomnia and lack of appetite to psychotic reactions like hysteria and hallucinations if taken in significant amounts and for an extended period."

An official at the Health Ministry's drug control committee in Moscow said phentermine is not permitted for use in Russia. The official had no knowledge of opraphepranon but said a stimulant called phepranon is on the ministry's list of narcotic substances whose use is highly restricted.

Dr. Tokuo Yoschido of the World Health Organization's quality assurance and safety of medicines department said phentermine is recognized as a controlled substance that can lead to addiction if abused.

But, like many other controlled substances distributed for medical purposes, phentermine can do patients a lot of good if properly administered, said Yoschido. He said neither "phepranon" nor "opraphepranon" has been reviewed by the WHO.

Granovsky said the suspects will face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of illegally selling psychotropic substances. Their punishment will be far less severe if they are convicted on a milder charge, such as engaging in commercial activity without a license.

St. Petersburg is not the only city where such pills have appeared and become popular, especially with the onset of bathing-suit season. In Moscow, "Thai" weight-loss pills are advertised in almost every classifieds paper.

Andrei, a Moscow-based vendor of such pills, said there are dozens of brands on the local market coming from different laboratories and clinics, and not all of them are accompanied with a description of the drugs' pharmacological properties.

"Some [producers] prefer not to disclose their 'formula,' and customers who manage to lose weight display little interest in the pills' ingredients," he said, adding that his are made of a combination of herbs.

Galina Kolesnikova of the Health Ministry's medicine registration bureau said no one has ever applied for a license to sell Thai Pills in Russia.

But Olga Shatalina, 29, who took Thai Pills purchased from Andrei and lost 6 kilograms, said she was happy with the result and plans to take them again next year.

"I'm sure I haven't gotten addicted," said Olga. "On the contrary, I was very impatient to stop taking them, since [while I was,] I couldn't eat sweets or drink alcohol."